WASHINGTON, D.C.-- The House Natural Resources Committee today passed several bills out of committee, including the King Cove Land Exchange Act, H.R. 218, and the Resilient Federal Forest Act, H.R. 2936. Both bills would damage the environment and undermine longstanding environmental safeguards.
In response Athan Manuel, director of public lands policy for the Sierra Club issued the following statement.
“Neither of these bills provides real solutions for the problem at hand. Republicans bandy about messages of concern for local communities, yet at the heart these bills are just another attempt to waive environmental and health safeguards that polluters and developers find cumbersome.
“The Resilient Federal Forest Act for example, doesn’t address the need to end fire borrowing-- a must-do to ensure long term forest health and fund the type of fire management that will actually help protect life and property.
“The proposed land swap and road through the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge has been repeatedly studied and consistently rejected. The road would be a costly and ineffective use of taxpayer dollars, unsafe or impassable during winter storms. Yet, Republicans continue to waste time on this failed road project instead of focusing on the viable alternatives that have already been evaluated by the Army Corps of Engineers.”
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